Gaza war inflicts ‘humiliating defeat’ on Israel, exposes nature of regime’s supporters: Iran Army chief

The chief commander of the Iranian Army says the weeks-long Israeli onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip inflicted a “humiliating defeat” on Tel Aviv and exposed the "true face" of the US and other supporters of the occupying regime.

Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi made the remarks at a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday, saying that “The US president went to meet the most hated person in the world [Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and supported him, but he adjusted his stance as the Zionist regime’s crimes intensified.”

“This war led to the Zionist regime’s humiliating defeat. The Zionist regime advocates apartheid …, and thus the leaders of the countries that support this regime are also pro-apartheid.”

Mousavi also noted that the bombardment of civilian targets does not constitute an achievement for Israel as it has lost many military equipment and personnel in the ground battle and failed to arrest Hamas leaders.

For years, he added, the Zionists tried to “consign the Palestine issue to the oblivion,” but the Gaza war has turned the spotlight on Palestine across the globe.

“The US spent a fortune and employed its media empire to portray itself as an advocate of human rights and democracy. However, this war laid bare the true nature and face of the US and the countries supporting the Zionist regime,” Mousavi said.

Israel waged the brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group launched a surprise attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, in the occupied territories.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called Israel “as fragile as a spider web,” saying the deployment of US assets and troops, along with high-profile visits of US generals, proved the regime is weakened and “needs American support” to “stand on its own two feet.”

“As Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, the Zionist regime is weaker than a spider web,” Mousavi highlighted.

'Tel Aviv brought to its knees'

“Aircraft belonging to the US and some regional states provided assistance worth billions of dollar to the regime, but it was defeated and brought to its knees by the people who have been living for years in an open-air prison,” the Iranian Army chief asserted.

Mousavi added that Tel Aviv had to accept a ceasefire which is based on Hamas’ terms for truce.

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Iran's Army chief said that Operation Al-Aqsa Storm represented an “unprecedented development in the 75 years of the Palestinian struggle” to end the Israeli occupation.

Since the start of the aggression against Gaza, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, and injured at least 36,000 others.

It has also imposed a “complete siege” on the coastal sliver, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.

A four-day truce took effect on Friday to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and a captive-for-prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire, hailed as a victory for Hamas, is based on the conditions of the Palestinian resistance.

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